Invesco Ltd. Reduces Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. has reduced its holdings in American Electric Power by 14.3%, selling over 1.2 million shares, and now owns approximately 1.38% of the company valued at about $805 million.
• Several institutional investors such as Vanguard Group and Bank of America have increased their stakes in American Electric Power, indicating a strong interest in the company among major financial institutions.
• Analysts have a consensus "Hold" rating on the stock with a current average target price of $111.29, reflecting mixed expectations regarding its future performance.

Invesco Ltd. lowered its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 14.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,369,770 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,233,830 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned about 1.38% of American Electric Power worth $805,295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,269,781 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,711,519,000 after purchasing an additional 579,175 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,047,428 shares of the company's stock valued at $649,983,000 after acquiring an additional 85,756 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 51.0% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 6,416,474 shares of the company's stock valued at $591,791,000 after acquiring an additional 2,165,888 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 27.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,120,568 shares of the company's stock valued at $472,270,000 after acquiring an additional 1,105,317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,851,264 shares of the company's stock valued at $447,432,000 after acquiring an additional 272,997 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AEP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $102.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $102.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $111.29.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

NASDAQ AEP traded down $0.01 on Tuesday, reaching $111.99. 2,576,390 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,626,442. The firm has a market cap of $59.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $106.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $104.78. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $89.91 and a fifty-two week high of $115.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.55.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $5.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.85 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 17.68% and a return on equity of 11.55%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio is 54.39%.

Insider Transactions at American Electric Power

In other news, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 8,058 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.74, for a total transaction of $819,820.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 10,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,045,276.76. The trade was a 43.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.68, for a total transaction of $1,041,277.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,658 shares of the company's stock, valued at $991,683.44. This represents a 51.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 34,314 shares of company stock valued at $3,508,293. Insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

American Electric Power Company Profile

American Electric Power Company, Inc, an electric public utility holding company, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity for sale to retail and wholesale customers in the United States. It operates through Vertically Integrated Utilities, Transmission and Distribution Utilities, AEP Transmission Holdco, and Generation & Marketing segments.